[savoche]

You only have two walls left intact...?

[lesmore49]

They're a resourceful bunch. I guess living on a volcanic rock in the North Atlantic makes you do well or die.

Quite right.

Reviewing DNA in people has become quite a tool for analyzing historical movement, preponderance of settlement of peoples in different areas of the world. As many know Iceland presents an unusual opportunity for genetic studies, due to it's relative geographical isolation as a country (an island in the ocean), very limited immigration over the ages, etc. DNA sampling indicates that Icelanders largest percentage of background comes not only from Scandinavia, but also Celtic areas of Scotland and Ireland... much of it traced back to the original settlement of somewhere around the late 800's A.D. My understanding is that Icelandic matrilineal DNA is generally Celtic, while patrilineal is more likely Norwegian (Viking).

Genetic studies are yet another modern tool that help us determine our past.

[Parallax]

In the U.S. Columbus Day is a national holiday when we celebrate Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of North America.
The "discovery" of an inhabited, civilized continent that had been visited by Europeans centuries earlier.
Christopher Columbus, a great explorer. He didn't know how to get to where he was going when he left, he didn't know where he was when he got there, and he didn't know where he'd been when he got back.
Indigenous, or aboriginal peoples are referred to differently in different countries. Personally, I much prefer Canada's "First Nations" designation; it seems the most respectful.
Here we call them "Indians" because of a wayward explorer who couldn't find his <insert body part here> with both hands and a map.
Sorry for the rant, but this has always been a sore spot for me. How do you "discover" someplace that already has people living there?

[dbs]

In the U.S. Columbus Day is a national holiday when we celebrate Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of North America.
The "discovery" of an inhabited, civilized continent that had been visited by Europeans centuries earlier.
Christopher Columbus, a great explorer. He didn't know how to get to where he was going when he left, he didn't know where he was when he got there, and he didn't know where he'd been when he got back.
Indigenous, or aboriginal peoples are referred to differently in different countries. Personally, I much prefer Canada's "First Nations" designation. Here we call them "Indians" because of a wayward explorer who couldn't find his <insert body part here> with both hands and a map.
Sorry for the rant, but this has always been a sore spot for me. How do you "discover" someplace that already has people living there?

Its just a mad European ideal of self importance..

[MarkJerling]

On 13 December 1642 Abel Janszoon Tasman "Discovered" New Zealand. The local Maori were not friendly and he beat a hasty retreat. It was not until 8 October 1769 that another European, James Cook, set foot on New Zealand soil. While his first encounter with Maori ended badly, he was not quite so easily scared off as Abel Tasman. Maori is believed to have discovered New Zealand somewhere between 1250–1300. The earliest evidence of settlement dates to after 1314.

[Racer X 69]

Nice one.

I'm listening to Dire Straits on the Pioneer PL12D with a Pioneer KX-440 amp, right now.

Both date from 1974.

Looks like some of the lights are burned out on the dial. Time to scrounge some on eBay and get the soldering iron out.

[MarkJerling]

Looks like some of the lights are burned out on the dial. Time to scrounge some on eBay and get the soldering iron out.

You're right. I need to get in there and do a wee service. But then, I hardly ever listen to the radio, so the lights serve little purpose other than to tell me that it's on!

[MarkJerling]

In other news: Picked some prickly pears today.

[Racer X 69]

6,770.

Remember that number.

Who, Bob?

You'd better write it down

The first round, notices go out later this week.

[tim60]

On 13 December 1642 Abel Janszoon Tasman "Discovered" New Zealand. The local Maori were not friendly and he beat a hasty retreat. It was not until 8 October 1769 that another European, James Cook, set foot on New Zealand soil. While his first encounter with Maori ended badly, he was not quite so easily scared off as Abel Tasman. Maori is believed to have discovered New Zealand somewhere between 1250–1300. The earliest evidence of settlement dates to after 1314.

I have heard the theory Maori were a tribal group from Taiwan from the era when most Taiwan inhabitants were the ancestors of the surrender tribal groups who mostly live in the mountains. A support of the theory is similarity of boat design with one of the current tribal groups.

[tim60]

In other news: Picked some prickly pears today.

Were you practicing the art form called ‘still life’?

[MarkJerling]

I have heard the theory Maori were a tribal group from Taiwan from the era when most Taiwan inhabitants were the ancestors of the surrender tribal groups who mostly live in the mountains. A support of the theory is similarity of boat design with one of the current tribal groups.

Indeed. It's believed that the ancestors of the Māori were a Polynesian people originating from south-east Asia. Some claim that the Polynesians arrived in the Pacific from America, rather than from the East, based on the fact that the kumara (sweet potato) staple cultivated food crop of the pre-European New Zealand Māori, originates from central South America.

[MarkJerling]

Were you practicing the art form called ‘still life’?

Thanks, but unintentionally. My primary goal was picking my favourite fruit!

[jeallen01]

As opposed to specialisation – a specialist being one who learns more and more about an increasingly narrow field until nirvana!: he knows everything about nothing.

Missed Savoche's original post about broad-based project teams, but I found over time that a broad-based engineering career often paid "dividends" in terms of personal "flexibility to get on with the next thing" - probably because I shouldn't have gone into engineering in the first place (was better at "arts-type" subjects than maths/science ones at school!) and yet I did! Thereafter I was dealing with many engineering specialists, and so often had bring a "left of central" approach in order to solve problems, when the specialists could not!

[Liney]

Indeed. It's believed that the ancestors of the Māori were a Polynesian people originating from south-east Asia. Some claim that the Polynesians arrived in the Pacific from America, rather than from the East, based on the fact that the kumara (sweet potato) staple cultivated food crop of the pre-European New Zealand Māori, originates from central South America.

I'm still working through "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond which describes that theory, its a very interesting book and I must get back to reading it. It touches on the difference between hunter gatherers and farmers, and how some staple crops started in some areas and spread.